Kingdom Fall
As I walked in, I spotted a wall full of short, tanks and other clothing items not swimwear. I walked over and grabbed things because the sarong I wore was so wrong for the beach. It was more for lounging by a pool. If I’d been told someone would pack for me, I would have given them instructions. Then again, I hadn’t even known our destination. I ground my molars before taking my selections to the corner marked as a dressing room.
I had the door almost closed when Striker pushed his way in.
“Excuse you,” I complained.
“There’s only one changing room.”
“And?”
“And it’s not like I haven’t seen the goods before.”
“It’s not like you’ll ever touch me again,” I said tartly.
His eyes dropped as if assessing every inch of my skin before he stepped forward, crowding me in the small space that barely fit the both of us. My back hit the wall as he leaned down. I thought he might kiss me—and I might have been slightly disappointed when his lips ghosted over mine before reaching my ear.
“Now that you’ve made your intentions clear, let me tell you mine. I will not touch you unless you beg me to.”
His words landed on my skin, and I shivered. When he pulled back, he smirked, his gaze going to my chest. I glanced down and saw my nipples were hard and puckered the fabric, belying my reaction to his closeness. I let my gaze fall to his crotch, making my point. He didn’t seem to care and dropped his shorts, letting me see his hard cock straining his boxer briefs.
“I don’t want to want you, but I do. Trust this, I won’t act on it.”
Personally, I was glad he wasn’t commando, because I might not have been able to pull off what I said next. “Good, because you might be a decent lay—”
“Decent?” he asked, pulling on a pair of solid blue board shorts.
“Okay, a really good lay, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever make the same mistake by screwing you. Bet or not.”
“I’ll never force you to do anything, bet or not.” He opened the door and stepped out with his bag and the shorts he’d been wearing in his hand, still wearing the new ones. Before he closed the door, he said, “But always remember, you’re only as good as your word.”
He had me with that one. I’d called him a liar and here I was saying my word wasn’t good. I sighed. The man messed with my head, but I didn’t want him to break my heart. My snark was more defense than offense.
I pulled on a pair of shorts, which hadn’t been packed for me. Then I pulled on the off-white crochet cover-up with fringe that had brought me to the back of the store. It was gorgeous and did the trick.
Like him, I left the dressing room with the new items on.
“I’d like to buy this and this,” I said, pointing at the things I had on. I placed the tags I’d removed on the counter. “Along with these and that hat over there.”
The woman with the welcoming smile nodded as she scanned my purchases. When it came time to pay, I knocked Striker’s hand away and handed her the black card Kalen had given me. Since it was still in my purse, I assumed it was good to use without security risk. After I put on the floppy woven hat the color of flax seeds, I took the bag she held out and went for the door.
Striker caught me, once again taking my hand. “So my brother’s money is better than mine?”
“No. I just don’t want to owe you a damn thing,” I said, leaving my expression blank.
The muscles in his jaw went taut, and we didn’t say another word to each other. Not even in the taxi on our way to a destination unknown to me. As much as I called him a liar, I still dumbly trusted the man. After everything he’d done so far, I’d be stupid to think otherwise.
The taxi let us off near a marina. Striker, still determined to hold my hand, used his other to check his phone. Then he walked us down a pier. A man exited a boat at the end filled with college students, probably not much younger than me.
“Please tell me that’s not our destination.” When he didn’t reply, I said, “Is that why you gave up the dad shorts for those?”
Truth was, the khakis he’d worn had looked great on him. But I couldn’t help needling him after I’d admitted my ongoing attraction to him.
“It’s summer break and the islands are crawling with partiers.”
“You could have clued me in. I wouldn’t have worn this.” I had purchased a couple of T-shirts that would have worked better for what he called our subterfuge.